KATHUA: Security forces on Monday launched a search operation near a forest area in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district after suspicious movement was detected, officials said.

The operation was launched after a civilian spotted three suspected persons in Saladhi area of Hiranagar, the cops said.

A joint operation team is engaged in the search, and vigilance has been intensified in the area and along the highway.

A similar exercise was undertaken last Tuesday when security forces launched search operations in the higher reaches of Kathua district following information about movement of suspected terrorists, officials said.

Last week, Omar Abdullah took his council of ministers and the whole administrative set up to a resort in north Kashmir's Baramulla district for a meeting aimed at negating the perception of fear in the Valley. This came a day after a meeting of the council of ministers at a resort in south Kashmir's Pahalgam.

On April 22, terrorists attacked holidaymakers enjoying picturesque Pahalgam, in a lush valley beneath snowcapped Himalayan peaks. Survivors said the attackers separated the men, asked several about their religion, and shot them at close range. All 26 killed were Indian nationals, except one from Nepal. Most were Hindus. One was a Kashmiri Muslim who gave horse rides for tourists.

The Pahalgam attackers are still on the run.

Following the terrorist attack, the Border Security Force and Army troops were deployed across sensitive regions including Rajouri and Poonch, while the border force strengthened its forward presence in Jammu, Samba, and Kathua.